Photo: 32 BJ workers in front of the Hartford Courant and a previous demonstration.

KEEP THE PRESSURE ON - SUPPORT DISPLACED CLEANERS AT THE HARTFORD COURANT.

The Hartford Courant fired their custodians who serviced them for over 20 years and hired a non-union business to replace them.

WHEN: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012 -- “GROUNDHOG DAY”
TIME: 3:30PM
WHERE: Hartford Courant - 285 BROAD STREET, HARTFORD

If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day will there be justice for workers in Hartford?

Local 32BJ, SEIU Connecticut District
196 Trumbull St. 4th Flr., Hartford CT 06103
(860) 560-8674 http://www.standwithbuildingworkers.org/

Posted by: Tom Connolly

GET CORPORATE MONEY OUT OF OUR DEMOCRACY!

Photo Above: The projection on the side of the wall of Citizens United Bank notes that "Corporations re not people" as part of a labor-community coalition demonstration on Jan. 19, 2012.

"Corporations Are NOT People and Money Is NOT Speech!" and "Get Corporate Money Out of Our Democracy" was the theme of two demonstrations held in Hartford on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. The demonstration on Jan. 19 was sponsored by a labor-community coalition and the Jan 20 demonstration was titled "Occupy the Courts"sponsored by Occupy Hartford and a group of concerned citizens who are just getting organized. The demonstrators were part of national actions to protest the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, [Jan. 21, 2010] a bitterly divided Supreme Court overturned a century of established precedent by ruling that corporate spending on candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.

In so doing, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy effectively declared that corporations are indistinguishable from people with respect to federal law and the U.S. Constitution. As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporations and billionaires can spend unlimited sums of money, without disclosure, in political campaigns.

Wall Street, oil and coal corporations, insurance and drug companies and the military-industrial-complex will weigh in with hundreds of millions of dollars to distort the truth and outright lie without disclosure or accountability to their shareholders or the public.

The goal of the top 1 percent is simple. They will spend as much as it takes to elect candidates who support a right-wing corporate agenda, and they will spend as much as it takes to defeat our candidates who are fighting for us, the 99 percent. Will our democracy survive in which ordinary people can control their future? Or will "democracy" simply become another commodity owned and controlled by billionaires and corporations in order to serve their own purposes? The 99% say "NO!" [See additional Photos of the demos below.]

Posted by: Tom Connolly

Home Child Care Providers Vote Union

In an overwhelming yes vote, over 4,000 home child care providers have chosen union recognition. The providers are part of Connecitcut's Care-4-Kids program of the Department of Social Services.

The vote is the result of a several year campaign. House visits revealed that home child care providers have common problems that hamper their ability to provide the best possible early learning for the children they serve. In a secret ballot election, the home-based providers voted 1,603 to 88 for representation by CSEA/SEIU Local 2001.

"Standing together, child care providers will have a strong voice for the things we need to provide quality care," said Queen Freelove, a 20-year provider of day and after-school care in New Haven. "In this economy, parents are working longer hours to support their families and relying on child care providers for things like homework help after school. Parents and children will both benefit when we can talk to the state about improving the program," Freelove said.

Connecticut's in-home child care workers join family providers in 15 states who gained official standing to seek improvements in early learning through their unions. By having a voice, providers can help stabilize the child care workforce, expand family access, and work to retain experienced, trained child care providers, raising the quality of early learning.

The vote was possible because Governor Danell P. Malloy issued two executive orders allowing home health care and home child care providers to vote on representation. This aroused the ire of the Republicans and the right-wing. A concerted campaign by We the People of Connecticut, a Tea Party group, calling the orders unconstitutional, was unsuccessful in stopping the effort. Attempts in other states to stop home care workers from unionizing, including an attempted injunction in Minnesota, have been unsuccessful.

A working group convened by Malloy has a February deadline to prepare recommendations on how to structure a relationship between the state and the union representing the providers.

THURSDAY JAN. 19 - DEMO - CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE!

Corporations Are NOT People and Money Is NOT Free Speech! Get Corporate Money Out of Our Democracy!

Join CCAG and the Connecticut Action Alliance for a Fair Economy for aMarch Through Hartford to Reclaim Our Democracy!


Date: Thursday, Jan. 19th, 2012
Time: 4:30 PM
Place: Assemble in front of the Old State House
800 Main Street Hartford, Ct


PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO FRIENDS


Today, as a result of the absurd Citizens United Supreme Court decision, corporations and billionaires can spend unlimited sums of money, without disclosure, in political campaigns.

Karl Rove’s American Crossroads has already pledged to spend at least $240 million in the elections of 2012. The extreme right-wing billionaire Koch brothers are probably spending even more. Wall Street, oil and coal corporations, insurance and drug companies and the military-industrial-complex will also weigh in with hundreds of millions of dollars to distort the truth and outright lie without disclosure or accountability to their shareholders or the public.

The goal of the top 1 percent is simple. They will spend as much as it takes to elect candidates who support a right-wing corporate agenda, and they will spend as much as it takes to defeat our candidates who are fighting for us, the 99 percent. Will our democracy survive in which ordinary people can control their future? Or will "democracy" simply become another commodity owned and controlled by billionaires and corporations in order to serve their own purposes?

January 21 is the anniversary of the bad Citizens United decision, and we, as the 99 percent, need to stand up to corporations and their big money! Join us on Thursday, January 19 as we march through Hartford to reclaim our democracy!

There is parking in the Constitution Plaza Garage; if you park on the street, read the parking signs carefully as they will ticket and tow you if you don't comply with the information on the signs.

For more information on the event, contact CCAG Political Director John Murphy at info@ccag.net or (860) 233-2181.

Source: CCAG - Posted by: Tom Connolly